People's Democracy

On Struggle Path

VARIOUS Left and democratic organisations of farmers, agricultural labourers, plantation workers, tribals and youth of Wayanad district have formed a joint action committee (JAC) to press the state and union governments to take immediate steps to save Wayanad people from the present crisis. The JAC went on an indefinite hunger strike from March 24, 2004, which lasted for 11 days and compelled the state government to declare some relief measures. Among them were granting of Rs 50,000 compensation to all the families of those farmers who committed suicide, waiving of interest on all agricultural loans for one year, moratorium on repayment of all agricultural loans for one year, free ration for all poor families for two week etc. After this announcement, the JAC temporarily called off the hunger strike and declared that the agitation will be intensified after the Lok Sabha elections to achieve the main demands of complete write off of all the debts of farmers and increasing the support price to protect the domestic prices of agro produces. In the election, the people, especially the farming community of Waynad, have responded well to the situation by electing the LDF candidates, M P Veerendra Kumar and A P Abdullakutty, from the two seats in the district. Immediately after the elections, a convention of farmers owing loan liabilities was organised. It was announced that a march to assembly will be held on July 19 on these demands.

A JAC delegation comprising of P A Muhammad, district secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), P Krishnaprasad, state committee member of the All India Kisan Sabha, Kerala unit, and P V Sahadevan , district treasurer of the CITU visited Delhi and along with M P Veerendra Kumar, A. P Abdullakutty and A. Vijayaraghaven all Members of Parliament, submitted a memorandum to the prime minister Manmohan  Singh on July 6.  The delegation also met union agricultural minister Sharad Pawar, union commerce minister Kamal Nath, and union tribal affairs minister P R Kyndiah. The prime minister assured the delegation that he would study the demands and take necessary action.

The main points in the memorandum included:

• Impose adequate tax on imports to protect the prices of agricultural produces like coffee, pepper, tea, cardamom, arecanut etc. in the domestic market

• Allocate needful amount to write off the existing loan liabilities of the farmers with retrospective effect from the year 2000-2001, so that the benefit will reach to those who have paid the loans too

• Disburse interest-free, long-term loans of 5 years to all the needy farmers

• Fix support price in the domestic market to the tune of Rs 15,000 for pepper per quintal, Rs 6,000 for coffee beans per quintal and Rs 10 for green tea per kilo

• Procure pepper and coffee from the market through government agencies.

• Promote agro-based industries mainly based on cash crops produced in the district

• Form cooperatives which must take active involvement in the procurement, value addition, agro-processing and marketing of processed products and revoke the policy of earlier NDA dispensation of depending upon corporate houses for developing agro industries.

• Provide free land to all landless Adivasi families according to the Tribal Land Distribution Act of 1999 in Kerala

• Immediately solve the crisis in the plantation sector and open those estates under lockout

• Provide free rationing to all poor families in the district for at least two years.